The Southland Times. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1869.

Southland Times, Issue 1187, 24 December 1869, Page 2

The Southland Times. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1869.

The period of the year appointed for collecting the agricultural statistics of the colony is once more close at hand. The importance of the information to be derived from such a source has been so often pointed out in our columns, and is so generally admitted, tbafc little need be said upon the subject now. ~We may, however, remind those engaged in farming operations that the value of the compilation depends entirely on the correctness with which th 6 individual returns are filled up. A little trouble is therefore well expended in giving the figures as accurately as possible, and our settlers will only be consulting their own interests in exercising care and judgment in their calculations. No better criterion of the material prosperity of a country, especially a young one such as this, could be educed than that afforded by an annual comparison of its powers of production in this respect. The question of population resolves itself simply into that of the cost of living — the price of the necessaries of life — in comparison with the •value of labor, and no scheme of immigration, however elaborate and generous it may be, will succeed in fixing a population in an j given locality should the result of that comparison be unfavorable to labor. "Where hired labor is necessary simply to reclaim land from a state of wild barrenness, and when wages are high, it may no doubt often appear anything but profitable to extend cultivation at all, but it must be borne in mind that in that case the greater portion of the outlay is not legitimately chargeable to the cost of crop grown, but to the enhanced value of the soil itself, the^succeedi ng crops being ■ also raised at much less expense. No doubt it would greatly accelerate settlement were labor obtainable at a much cheaper rate than generally rule 3in this province, and fictitious methods of supplying the demand, such as indiscriminate free immigration, may be made to temporarily force the acceptance of low wages, but it is questionable whether,

on the whole, the community gains or loses by such an arrangement. Judging by experience, we thiak the balance would be found to go against the province. The only method of obtaining a permanent supply of cheap labor is by providing that labor with the means of subsistence at a lowscale ; in other words, cheap living must precede cheap labor. Any combination of circumstances which may reverse this order must be exceptional, and frequently also unsound in principle. It is therefore of the utmost importance, both to capital and labor, thatthe self-sustainingresources of the country should be known, and the statistical system is the best that can be devised for ascertaining ihe fact. Last year the returns from this province were very satisfactory, both from their showing a greater breadth of cultivation within its limits than was generally supposed, and the careful manner in which the work of the superintendent-collector had been performed, the latter gaining the especial approbation of the head pf the department in Wellington. The same gentleman will, we presume, be again en trusted with the duties, and we hope that all concerned will aid him in compiling a series of tables which may be accepted as perfectly reliable, and that the result will show that, in the face of many obstacles, Southland has, during the year now nearly run, made much progress in that industry which is the root of national prosperity — agriculture.

If the weather continues the same aa we bave been favored with for several weeks past, the " festive season " which is now about to be ushered in will be rendered all the more enjoyable, albeit some of our townsfolk are wearying for a change of some kind, even although it should be a " southerly buster." It is to be hoped, however, that their wish in this matter will not be gratified unt^ the extensive programme provided by those who cater for the recreation and amusement of the public has been thoroughly exhausted. This presents so many attrac tive features that the most fastidious cannot fail to obtain some enjoyment. First on the card comes a pic-nic excursion to the Makarewa to-morrow. This is given under the auspices of the contractors of the Winton railway, who very wisely consider that "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," and they have therefore determined to take the workmen engaged on the line, along with their wives and families, as far up as the " iron ! horse " can safely go, which we believe is somewhere near the banks of the Makarewa river. The spirited lessees of the Bluff JTarborand Invercargill railway have obtained the privilege of coupling on as many carriages as the general public [ may patronise, and as the return ticket is fixed at the moderate sum of 2s 6d, we have no doubt a large number of our citizens will take advantage of the opportunity. One thing we may safely guarantee, and that ia that no such mishap as befell excursionists on the wooden railway will mar the pleasures of the day. "What with races at the Bridge Inn, sports provided by the enterprising proprietor of the Southern Cross Hotel, aquatics at the New River Ferry, the repetition of the excursion trip per railway to the Makarewa River, pleasureseekers on Boxing Day will have some difficulty in deciding whither they will go. That point they must settle for themselves, but we would remind them that the day can be very appropriately brought to a close by lending their presence at the Theatre Royal, where some old favorites will be found exerting themselves for the benefit of Mrs Puuttei",k:ow. The pieces to be performed are, with one exception, " The Turkish Bath," familiar to the public, and will, no doubt, again afford a pleasant evening's entertainment. It is almost unnecessary to say that there should be a " bumper house " on the occasion, for we feel certain the curtain will rise to crowded benches. When so much enjoyment is provided for our readers, we feel confident they will not object to those who put these lines together — the staff of this journal — being allowed to participate in. the general festivities. We have therefore to announce, in order to effect this object, that the Southland Times will not be published on Monday, and we have only further to add that we heartily wish all and sundry A Mertcy Chuistmas.

In an article deprecating the fashion which haß recent'y sprang up of New Z aland colonists resident in the old country pestering the Minister for the Colonies with their ideas on matters nonnected with the Colony, the Wanganni Times concludes as follows: — "The time has arrived when the Colonial Government is imperatively called upon to place its veto upon the proceedings of those old colonists who, in pursuit of notoriety, are working an incalculable amount of mischief, and assuming to themselves a dictatorial position which they dare not assume here amongst their fellow colonists." Two boys, sons of Mr Keys, a magistrate of Sydney, went out shooting on November sth, when one accidentally sliofc the other dead. Coromandel, it is state-.i, is turning out a firstclass goldficli. A newspaper is about to be started there.

The breeders »of stock at Sydney have resolved to compete with Yiutori.-i and South Australia in the Indian market for horses, and the Surrey, bound to Calcutta, has taken 120 picked aniin Us. Recently, the wife of Mr S. P. Brown, of H.M. Customs, Auckland, expired very suddenly. She was dressing when she gave a cry for assistance, and in fifteen minutes after she was dead, heart disease being the cause of her death. A very sanguine correspondent of the Cromwell Guardian, writing from Dunedin, say 9 ; — On Friday night, the High School boys appeared in the Post Office Hall before a crowded audience, and gave some excellent recitations. The debate as to the extension of the suffr ige to the female sex was excellent. Mr. Pope, one of the masters, in a barrister's wig and gown, did his part, as speaker, to perfection. Many could not get admittance, and the affair was a great success. The Musical Association aided by the skilful execution of several concerted pieces. The veneraMe Dr. Burns was present, and I could not help thinking ] how little he could foretell twenty years ago, amii the dense bush and flax which then represented Duuedin, that he would live to see a large hall built on what was an arm of the sea, filled to overflowing with youth a,nd beauty and fashion, pretty heads with the largest of chignons behind, and the smallest of saucer-bonnets before, handsome figures with the gayest of dresses, and almost everything inconsistent with the Doctor's Guernsey jacket of yore. The remarkable contrast emboldens my vision, and I look to see in twenty months Cromwell extending to a second Ballarat, or commercial emporium of the busy towns about to rise at Bendigo and CarJrona. Michael Herring, an Irishman, died at Westport, the other day, from the effects of sunstroke. The Wellington Independent of the 9th instiufc aays: — "The following extract from the London correspondent of Mr E. C. Recce, deserves the notice of all interested in the manufacture of fl-ix : — ' By parcel (po3t) I send sample of flax wholly undressed, and lately sold at £31 per ton ; also, of some well-dressed Canterbury flax, which was recently valued at £ J2 to £44 per ton — but I rather think it was d^ne in London, from the aforesaid straw, by a Frenchman's machine, nearly perfected after many experiments, and by which the raw New Zealand flix can be thoroughly cleaned with comparatively little waste, and made worth £42 to £-13 per ton. He is sanguine, of perfect success j and, although now unable to define a price for his machine, he expects they will range between £100 to £150 each.' " Captain Praser, woo was one of the first officers who raised a force in order to put down the Maori rebellion, has been appointed as Warden of the Coromandel G-oldfields, Auckland Province. The mortal remains of Mr Thoma9 P.iterson, Civil Engineer (aays the Daily Times of Monday last) were conveyed to their last resting place in tha Church of England cemetery yesterday, The body was brought into towu early in the morning by one of Mr Q-eddes's coaches, and tne funeral cortege started from St. Paul's Church soon after 4in the afternoon. As the deceased gentleman was widely known, and highly respectei, the attendance on the occasion was very large, including nearly all our leading citizens. With the exception of the funeral of the Rev. Mr Campbell, who was drowned in the harbor in consequence of a collision between the Pride of the Yarraand the Favorite, no other ceremony of the kind has been so largely attended in Dunedin. It is a singular and very mournful circumstance that Mr Balfour was on his way to attend the funeral of his friend, Mr Paterson, when he too met with hi 9 untimely fate. We understand that the General Government have been communicated with by telegraph respecting the late Mr Balfour, and that they have agreed to send the St. Eilda to Timaru, for the purpose of conveying the body of the deceased gentleman to Wellington for the purpose of burial. Mrs Balfour, we may adu' resi !es in Wellington. The Wanganui Times tells the following story, and remarks that it beats Cousin Jonathan by chalks : — " Nearly a year ago a gentleman in Wanganui compromised with his creditors, and under a legal document promised to pay a di7idend every sis montha from and after a certain day. He has just remitted from the Thames Goldfields one shilling as the first six month's dividend ! ! That, positively, protects him as the legal document does not specify any particular sum to be paid every six months ! ! ! He demands from the ' Trustees ' a rece : pt f r the remittance, and we demand from them our dividend out of the one shilling." It is a frequent topic of remark in Invercarffill that so little capital is being invested in the flax industry, but a visit to so ne of t!ie cou.itry dis'n'ic's is neces.^a-y to sluw that operations o' considerable magnitude are being carried on. At Long Bush, for instance, a flax-mill will shortly be at work, employing, we are informed, some twenty-five hands. A water power is being obtained on the Waikivi creek, anl sheds erected for drying the fibre in wet weafher, it being contemplated to employ three dressing machines. At Half-way Bush, likewise, extensive preparations are being made on the estate o{ C. Basstian, Esq., and we hope soon to be able to announce I that actual operations have commenced. The settlers in the surrounding districts will derive immense benefit from those large mills, as they will always be in a position to earn some ready money, by simply cutting and carting the green leaf to the manufactories. The hopes of the Nelson people are again excited by information received by the last mad that the prospect of the railway to the West Coast being undertaken by English capitalists was assuming a tangible shape. The London Times of Sept. 38, thus refers to the project : — " A scheme ha 3 been brought forward for the construction of a railway between Nelson and Cobden, in the province of Nelson, New Zealand. Various gentlemen of influence in London are stated to have given their approval to the enter, prize. The capital proposed is no less than £2,000,000, as it is considered desirable that two thousand laborers and artizans with their families should be sent out to the province from England. Nothing definite has yet, however, been determined on with respect to the undertaking." The Sydney Evening News gives the following account of the elopement of Miss Carey, lately an actress in 3ydney : — Last week a romance in dramatic professional life occurred of a very sensational character, which fairly equals anything described in the thousand and one novelj that have lately been so much, the popular taste in the literature of the day. It appears that Mr Walter Montgomery, who arrived in Sydney last Friday week, and engaged the professional services of a ,

very charming member of the corps draraatique ! at the Prince of Wales Opera House, for the Theatre Royal, Auckland. lie left on the following Tuesday for New Zealand, having made arrangements for the voyage of his lair employe an actress hitherto sans reproach, who, in charge of her mother, was to follow him in the Hero. On Wednesday evening the young lady played as usual her part in the sensational play of " Formosa," and likewise appeared in the farce ; after which she most ceremoniously bade adieu to her brothers and sisters in the profession upon the stage ; who, however, little thought, as they wished her good night, they were to see her no more amongst them. Her mothar, who was waiting for her at ho-tr", w.-iite 1 in vain. Hour after hour passed, and the old la.'ly, becoming almost distracted, went forth to look for her daughter, but nowhere could she be found. The morning arrived — still came not the missing one. At length by post a small note arrived, which informed the thunderstricken parent that her daughter had left her for ever, having gone off with one " she had loved for two years, as she had no idea of being sold to Mr Montgomery." The den >uement may be imagined. The youn* lady, not more than seventeen years of age, possessed of considerable personal attractions, and great talents, had eloped, and she has not since been heard of, although a rigid search has been made. A large circle of friends sympathise with the aged mother in her poignant distress, she having lost the prop ami stay of her existence. __________^__